A Helpful Guide To Fix Elbow Pain From Bicep Curls (Elbow Pain Curls)

Bicep curl elbow pain can occur for several reasons, including: restricted forearm muscles, inadequate warm-up of the biceps muscle, triceps muscle and forearm muscles before exercising, lifting a weight too heavy (e.g. heavy preacher curls), bad form or lifting technique during biceps curl, sudden increase in training volume (i.e. performing an excessive amount of bicep curl sets). Any or a combinations of these factors can cause your elbow to hurt during biceps curl.

"Pull" exercises such as bicep curls can trigger or aggravate elbow pain because the exercise involve the elbow tendons and elbow joint. The repetitive use of the elbow during bicep curls can strain and inflame the elbow tendons and elbow joint. When the elbow tendons become inflamed, it causes acute elbow pain after the workout - this is what causes your elbow to hurt after doing bicep curls.

Acute elbow pain is an inflammatory pain experienced during or immediately after working out. In the case of a bicep curl workout, it includes:

• Burning pain around the elbow joint after bicep curls
  
• A sensation of heat, swelling, or redness around elbow joint after bicep curls
• Sore elbow after bicep curls
• Elbow pain when bending and straightening arm after bicep curls

If you experience inner elbow pain while doing bicep curls, the cause is usually a combination of restricted (tight and shortened) triceps muscle and forearm muscles, and inflamed elbow tendon. During biceps curl, the forearm flexor muscles contract and triceps muscle extend, and as a result, they pull and put tension on the elbow tendons and triceps tendon.

The forearm flexor muscles can overstretch and inflame the tendon on the inside part of the elbow and cause inner elbow pain (also known as golfer's elbow or medial epicondylitis). Likewise, the triceps muscles can overstretch and inflame the triceps tendon at the back of the elbow and cause posterior elbow pain (also known as triceps tendonitis or lifters elbow).

Inner elbow pain can be chronic (develop over time) or acute (occur suddenly from overloading the elbow). Acute pain is an inflammatory pain experienced during or immediately after an exercise. In this case, experiencing inner elbow pain while doing bicep curls is a sign of acute elbow pain.

Nurudeen performing bicep curls (barbell curls and seated dumbbell curls) at gym (2017). The bicep curl is a "pull" exercise. It targets and develop the biceps muscle (biceps brachii and brachialis). "Pull" exercises such as bicep curls can aggravate golfer's elbow (pain on the inner part of the elbow), tennis elbow (pain on the outside part of the elbow), and triceps tendonitis (pain at the back of elbow).

The forearm muscles contract when you perform exercises involving your arms (such as bicep curls). Over time as you exercise, the forearm extensor muscles, forearm flexor muscles, and triceps muscle become tighter and shorter. 

Shortened forearm muscles and triceps muscle pull and put tension on the elbow tendons and decrease the elasticity of the elbow tendon. As a result, the elbow tendons get overloaded and inflamed, and cause elbow pain during biceps curl.

The pain usually occurs inside of the elbow (golfer's elbow), outside the elbow (tennis elbow), or at the back of the elbow (triceps tendonitis). The elbow tendons that cause elbow pain during biceps curl include the extensor elbow tendon (outside elbow tendon), medial elbow tendon (inside elbow tendon), and triceps brachii tendon (posterior elbow tendon).

No, biceps curl elbow pain (golfer's elbow) is different from biceps tendonitis. Golfers elbow (also known as medial epicondylitis) is inflammation of the medial elbow tendon. If you experience inner elbow pain during biceps curl, it's like golfer's elbow.

Biceps tendonitis is inflammation of the upper biceps tendon - the tendon that attaches the long head of the biceps muscle (outer biceps muscle) to the shoulder blade bone. Bicep tendonitis often cause pain, stiffness or weakness at the front of the shoulder during biceps curl. To learn more about shoulder pain, check out this complete guide: shoulder pain from lifting weights.

When performed properly with good technique, bicep curls are not bad for the elbows. However, performing bicep curls without first warming up (e.g. stretching the forearm muscles, triceps muscle and biceps muscle), lifting a weight too heavy, or a sudden increase in training volume (i.e. performing an excessive amount of bicep curl sets) can overload the elbow tendons and triceps tendon, and cause elbow tendonitis and elbow pain.

Nurudeen performing barbell curls during a biceps workout at gym (2019). Barbell curls is a powerful exercise to build massive arms. Unlike seated bicep curls, standing barbell curls allows for more weights and "cheating reps". A cheating rep is when you use your legs and back to curl the weights up for maximum failure during a set. During heavy barbell curls, it's easier for the forearm muscles to get overloaded, which can trigger both inner elbow pain and outer elbow pain.

When performed properly with good technique, preacher curls is not bad for the elbow and does not cause elbow problems. However, preacher curls can trigger or aggravate elbow tendonitis and elbow pain.

The preacher curl exercise isolate and target the biceps brachii (the long and short head of the biceps muscle). The exercise involve the biceps muscle, forearm muscles, triceps muscle, triceps tendon, and elbow tendons (medial and lateral tendons).

During preacher curls, the forearm muscles and triceps tendon can get overloaded; and as a result, it can overstretch and inflame the elbow tendons and triceps tendon, and causes acute elbow pain or aggravate chronic elbow pain. Preacher curls can aggravate golfer's elbow (inner elbow pain) and triceps tendonitis (posterior elbow pain).

When performed properly with good technique, bicep curls does not cause elbow pain. However, bicep curls can trigger or aggravate elbow tendonitis, elbow pain, and forearm pain.

"Pull" exercises such as bicep curls involve the biceps muscle, forearm muscles, triceps muscle, elbow tendons, and elbow joint. During bicep curls, the forearm muscles can get overloaded. When the forearm muscles become overloaded, it can overstretch and inflame the elbow tendons and causes acute elbow pain (sharp pain) or aggravate chronic elbow pain (dull pain).

When performed properly with good technique, bicep curls does not damage elbows. However, for a person experiencing elbow tendonitis, bicep curls can trigger acute elbow pain or aggravate chronic elbow pain, leading to elbow tendinosis.

Tendinosis is the deterioration of tendon collagen due to repetitive stress and chronic injury. Tendinosis results in the loss of strength in the tendon and often lead to tendon tear or rupture. So doing bicep curls with elbow tendonitis (i.e. inflammatory elbow pain) can lead to elbow tendinosis (i.e. degeneration of elbow tendon) and damage the elbows.

Nurudeen performing one-arm machine preacher curls during biceps workout (2022). Click here to watch video. Machine preacher curls isolate and target the biceps muscle (long head and short head of biceps), the brachialis (a muscle located beneath the biceps), and the forearm flexor muscles. It's an effective exercise to add size and increase the peak of the biceps. Preacher curls is a "pull" exercise; it can trigger inside elbow pain (golfer's elbow) and posterior elbow pain (triceps tendonitis). Preacher curls can also overload the forearm flexor muscles and trigger forearm pain and wrist pain.

When performed properly with good technique, bicep curls is a safe exercise and will not cause injury to the elbow. However any or a combinations of the following factors can cause you to hurt your elbow during bicep curls:

• Inadequate warm-up of the biceps, forearms, elbow tendons, and triceps tendon before doing bicep curls
• Inadequate stretching of the biceps, triceps, and forearms before doing bicep curls
• Lifting a weight too heavy (e.g. heavy preacher curls)
• Bad bicep curls form or technique. To learn proper bicep curl technique, check out this article.
• Sudden increase in training volume (i.e. performing an excessive amount of bicep curl sets)
• Doing bicep curls while experiencing ongoing mild-to-severe elbow tendonitis

It depends on the severity of the elbow pain. If the elbow tendonitis causes "low to mild" pain, most people can use sports tape, kino tape, elbow sleeves, elbow brace, elbow straps, or other short-term pain relief remedies to reduce elbow pain during bicep curls. If the elbow tendonitis is chronic and severe, or causes sharp pain in the elbow during bicep curls, it's best to treat the root cause of the pain before resuming physical training.

For additional FAQs about lifting weights and working out with elbow pain, check out this article.

It's possible to stop and relieve inner elbow pain or outer elbow pain in 5 minutes (see below), by releasing the forearm flexor muscles, forearm extensor muscles, and triceps muscle and tendon. You can accomplish this by using a myofascial release massage ball. Once the restricted muscles in the forearm are released, it will alleviate the tension on the elbow tendons, which allows the tendons to heal.

Using a combination of post-workout treatments (e.g. RICE therapy), magnesium supplementation, and self-myofascial release, it's possible to heal sharp forearm pain or elbow pain from bicep curl in 7-10 days. To accomplish this, it will require performing self-myofascial release on the forearms and triceps, 2-3 times a day.

Keep in mind, simply resting the elbow (e.g. taking a break from physical training) might temporarily provide relief, but it will not fix the root cause of the pain (i.e. restricted forearm muscles that overload the elbow tendons and cause elbow pain during bicep curl).

Nurudeen performing cable bicep curls during biceps workout (2022). Click here to watch video. Cable bicep curls is a variation of the barbell bicep curl exercise. However, unlike the barbell bicep curls which uses gravity as resistance, the cable bicep curls uses the cable as resistance to stimulate the biceps muscle to grow. Like most "pull" exercises, the cable bicep curl exercise can trigger inner elbow pain (golfers elbow), outer elbow pain (tennis elbow), and forearm muscle pain.

Nurudeen performing hammer curls with dumbbells during biceps workout (2022). Click here to watch video. Hammer curls target the outside bicep muscle (aka long head of the biceps); the brachialis (a muscle located beneath the biceps), and the brachioradialis (a forearm muscles). Hammer curls can trigger outside elbow pain and triceps tendonitis (posterior elbow pain).

To stop your elbow from hurting when doing bicep curls, do this:

1. Use short-term pain remedies that stop and provide temporary relief to elbow pain - OR
2. Fix the root cause of elbow pain to cure and counteract it from coming back.

Short-term pain relief remedies for biceps curl elbow pain include: joint supplements and vitamins, anti-inflammatory painkillers (NSAIDs), physical therapy, stretching, "Ice and Rest therapy", elbow braces, elbow straps, kinesiology tape, and topical anti-inflammatory solutions (oils and creams). For a detailed explanation, visit this article to learn more about conventional remedies to fix elbow pain.

To cure elbow pain and prevent it from interfering with your workouts, you can fix the root cause of elbow pain. The ROOT causes of elbow pain during exercise are (1) chronic inflammation, (2) magnesium deficiency, and (3) muscle restriction. For a detailed explanation, visit this article to learn more about the root causes of elbow pain and how to cure it.

To fix elbow pain fast (in 5 minutes), follow these steps:

1. Use a peanut ball to massage: forearm extensor muscles, forearm flexor muscles, and the triceps muscle and tendon.
2. Roll out (massage) the muscles with the peanut ball for 3-5 minutes. Stretch the forearm muscles and triceps muscle after the massage. 
3. Perform the massage ball routine once a day. Rest the muscles the following day. Then repeat the routine again.
4. On day when you're not using the massage ball, you can apply an ice pack to the elbow (if you experience burning pain). For faster results, perform the massage ball exercise 2x a day. Once in the morning and once at night.

For a detailed explanation, visit this article to learn more about how to relieve acute (sudden) elbow pain.

For an easy-to-follow video-based guide to cure bicep curls related injuries (elbow pain, shoulder pain, forearm pain, wrist pain), consider the TitaniumPhysique pain relief for athletes program.

To avoid elbow pain when doing bicep curls, follow these steps:

1. Stretch the biceps, forearms, and triceps before doing bicep curls (e.g forearm flexor stretch).
2. Start your biceps workout by warming up of the elbow tendons (e.g. resistance band pull-apart).
3. If performing heavy barbell curls or preacher curls, incrementally add weights to avoid sudden overload of the forearm muscles, triceps tendon and elbow tendons.
   
4. Learn and always good bicep curl exercise technique. To learn proper bicep curl technique, check out this article.
5. Incrementally increase training volume (i.e. be mindful about doing an excessive amount of bicep curl sets).
6. Supplement with magnesium to heal and decalcify the elbow tendons. Magnesium also relax muscles to reduce pain.
   
7. Use a peanut ball to massage the forearm extensor, forearm flexor, and triceps muscle and tendon. Roll out (massage) the muscles with the peanut ball for 3-5 minutes. Stretch the forearms and triceps after the massage. Perform the massage ball routine once a day. Rest the muscles the following day. Then repeat the routine again.

For a detailed explanation, visit this article to learn how to avoid elbow pain using a simple 3-Step Formula.

Nurudeen (aka T.J) has a passion for helping people build the body they desire through weight training. He is a physique and fitness trainer, nutritionist, yoga instructor, vegan natural bodybuilder, National Physique Committee (NPC) competitor, and founder at TitaniumPhysique. Nurudeen is a member of the International Association Study of Pain (IASP) and the American Chronic Pain Association (ACPA).

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